Laughter and Leisure

Did you have your first laugh of the day yet? Laughter is good for the soul. Children laugh at least 300 times per day. It lifts the spirits and allows you to soar. It is also Friday, so take some time to enjoy yourself. Here is my poem, JAMBOREE, about carving time out for leisure, laughter, and recreation.

JAMBOREE

No invitation came to me,
I crashed it just to see.
What revelers do for fun these days,
Millennial jamboree.

They all arrived bedecked out,
Stepped out of cars you see.
No walkers here, no slow-pokes there,
Quickness was the fee.

Some boys in grunge,
Fly girls in tights,
Prancing the night away.
A pierced tongue,
Both ears with studs,
And nose-rings diamonds bright.

Red weaved hair spiked up real high,
Wrapped tightly in a bun,
Adorn the crowns of many.
As two girls now stride by with confident smiles,
A natural look tiara,
Parading through the sky.

The single mother chaperone,
Refusing to let go,
Her beautiful young daughter,
Laughing as she goes.
“Hush up now,” she says to her, “and please remember me,
Have a clue, just hear me out, before it’s all too late.”
“I must admit you are quite smart, and know a thing or two.”
“But when it comes to these here things,
Listen up—you really don’t know Jack.”

A concerned dad,
Hands out some belts,
To raise pants waist an inch.
“No need,” he says, “right now,
To show your bright red boxers.
Revealed back is never free,
It all comes at a price.”

A young lanky male is all bearded,
Rushing up to be a man.
Sulking now as his girlfriend says,
The same thing as his dad.
“I like you more clean-shaven,
You have a handsome face.
Don’t hide behind that mask of hair,
Seize now your rightful place!”

A birthday cake,
Writes out a name,
A shout-out to broadcast the fame.
Gold yellow frosting all around,
An age so proudly sitting,
Propped on a purple stand.
Slices served on plastic plates,
A milestone reached, enabled by life’s plan.

No toast, no speech, no cards were there,
Few birthday gifts to see.
It all arrived in QR codes,
And gift cards on a screen.

We did it too at parties,
High platform shoes in green.
Blue mid-riff blouse, bright tubes of pink,
White seersucker pants too tightly seamed.
To show the curves,
We just now got,
Right out of puberty.

Psychedelic shirts with matching pants,
Announce a dynamite look.
Muscles popping everywhere,
Through tightly wrapped long sleeves.
A second skin designed for you,
Plastered on in your fantasy.
A one-of-a-kind creation,
It’s just like you—unique.

Massive gemstones like paperweights,
Suspended on thick ropes of gold.
You can’t help but notice them,
Screaming out and loudly shouting,
“Hey there, look now: bling-bling!”

I laughed with them,
And hoped that they would be,
So much more than us,
Safe from all the fuss,
Just striving to release.

When two arrived,
The time passed by,
No fights, no knives,
No guns, no mess,
Just young adults living life.

The crowd dispersed,
Home to their lives,
Another day in eternity.
I’m glad I came,
To marvel in the new reality.

“Look at that,” I said to me,
“How far we’ve just come from,
The joy that comes to mix it up,
Untold diversity.”

My hope renewed,
To see how much they are just like us.
A chuckle fills my heart’s desire,
To know they’ll make it too.

I look back now,
And wonder how we ourselves even made it.
Good times, good friends,
Good guidance there,
A roadmap paves the way.